IJISET - International Journal of Innovative Science, Engineering & Technology, Vol. 2 Issue 6, June 2015.

www.ijiset.com
ISSN 2348 – 7968

Low Cost Biogas Purification System for Application Of Bio

CNG As Fuel For Automobile Engines
Divyang Shah1, Prof. (Dr.) Hemant Nagarseth 2
1
Research Scholar, Department Of Mechanical Engg., Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel National Institute Of Technology,
Surat, Gujarat, 395007, India
2
Professor & Head, Department Of Mechanical Engg., Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel National Institute Of Technology,
Surat, Gujarat, 395007, India

Abstract resulted into need for finding some alternative sources of

Energy is an essential prerequisite for accelerated economic
development and improved quality of life for citizens of any
country. Due to rapid industrialization and urbanization in last
few decades, there is a huge pressure on depletable crude oil,
coal and other fossil fuels. This resulted into need for finding
some alternative sources of energy. About 70% population of
India lives in rural areas and majority of them are engaged in
agriculture, animal husbandry and small scale rural industries. In
agriculture there is tremendous increase in energy consumption
with increased use of tractor, bore well, irrigation pumps and
farm machineries etc. Biogas is produced by anaerobic digestion
of biomass such as cattle dung, vegetable waste, poultry
droppings, industrial waste water, municipal solid waste, and
landfill etc. In rural areas cattle dung and vegetable waste
whereas in cities and urban area municipal solid waste are
available in abundant quantity, from which biogas can be
generated. Biogas is constituted of different component gases,
the majority of them being methane (CH 4 ), Carbon Dioxide
(CO 2 ) with traces of Hydrogen Sulfide, and moisture. It is
possible to improve quality of biogas by removal of CO 2 , H 2 S
and enriching its methane content up to the natural gas level.
After methane enrichment and compression it can be used as
vehicle fuel like compressed natural gas (CNG). Any low cost
technique to remove carbon dioxide and hydrogen sulfide from
biogas can make biogas a techno-commercially viable fuel. In
this paper low cost biogas purification system is proposed and is
shown that using this system we can covert raw biogas into bio
CNG which can be used as a vehicular fuel
Keywords: Raw Biogas, Biogas Enrichment, Chemical
scrubbing.
1. Introduction
Energy is an essential prerequisite for accelerated
economic development and improved quality of life for
citizens of any country. Due to rapid industrialization and
urbanization in last few decades, there is a huge pressure
on depletable crude oil, coal and other fossil fuels. This
energy. Biogas is one of the most important renewable
sources of energy which may cope up to cater for heating
and power.
Biogas is produced by anaerobic digestion of biomass
such as cattle dung, vegetable waste, municipal solid
waste, poultry droppings, industrial waste water and
landfill etc. Main products of the anaerobic digestion are
biogas and slurry. In composition of biogas methane,
carbon dioxide, hydrogen sulfide, nitrogen, oxygen,
ammonia, chlorinated organic matter, silanes, siloxanes,
volatile phosphorous substances and other volatile trace
compounds are found.
At present biogas is used mainly in cooking and lighting.
Produced biogas is generally stored in large impermeable
bags at biogas plant site. The gas produced in digester is
transported by piping to nearby kitchens on pressure
developed in digester. But this pressure is not sufficient to
transfer gas to farther distances from the biogas generation
site. This is why use of biogas has been restricted to few
locations. Most digesters will have limited capacity to
store biogas produced. If there is any large capacity biogas
plant, sometimes produced biogas is not used in full
quantity locally (when demand is less than production)
resulting into interrupted operation of biogas plant. For
commercialization of biogas, it is important to make it
portable and compatible for various commercial purposes.
The main problem of biogas is its low energy content and
it is difficult and costlier to liquefy it. This requires
compression of biogas to as higher pressure as possible.
Storage of the gas is another concern as cylinder becomes
heavy and bulky for higher pressures. This may increase
weight of the cylinder and hence affect its portability. So
to increase energy content, other techniques like removing
incombustible gases are to be checked. So that due to

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increased % of methane, energy content of particular
volume of biogas also gets improved.
V.K.Vijay [1] has reported that natural gas has 75 to 98 %
methane with small percentage of ethane, butane, propane
whereas biogas has about 60% methane and about 40 %
carbon dioxide. It is possible to improve quality of biogas
by removal of CO 2 , H 2 S and enriching its methane
content up to the natural gas level. After methane
enrichment and compression it can be used as vehicle fuel
like CNG. When biogas is produced from cattle dung,
hydrogen sulfide content is usually less than one per cent.
The concentration of hydrogen sulfide more than this level
should be removed before use in engines.[2]
Biogas cannot be stored easily as it does not liquefy easily
under pressure and at ambient temperature. Its major
constituent is methane .Critical points of methane recorded
is -82 ° C and 46 bar. This means methane will not liquefy
at temperature above 82 ° C, whatever the pressure
implying that at any ambient temperature, methane is a
gas. Liquid methane at atmospheric pressure would have a
temperature of 111.5 K or -161.6° C. Thus a better way of
storing it too has to be used.[3]
Any low cost technique to remove carbon dioxide and
hydrogen sulfide from biogas can make biogas a techno-
commercially viable fuel.
2. Biogas Composition
Biogas is constituted of different component gases the
majority of them being methane (CH 4 ), Carbon Dioxide
(CO 2 ) with traces of Hydrogen Sulfide, and moisture.
Composition of a typical biogas sample is given in
following table:
Table 1 Composition of Biogas.
Constituent % in Biogas
Methane (CH4) 50-70%
Carbon Dioxide (CO 2 ) 30-40%
Hydrogen Sulfide ( H2S) Traces
Water Vapor (H2O) 0.3
Natural gas has 75-98% methane with small percentages
of ethane, butane, propane whereas biogas contains about
60% methane and 40 % carbon dioxide. It is possible to
improve quality of biogas by enriching its methane content
up to the natural gas.
Methane is important constituent present in raw biogas
and is combustible. Raw biogas contains so many
impurities. Among which removal of carbon dioxide,
hydrogen sulfide and moisture are important for upgrading
biogas for vehicular application.
ISSN 2348 – 7968
3. Need of removing impurities from raw
biogas.
a) Need of Removing H 2 s from Biogas:
The presence of H 2 S makes biogas corrosive to metal
parts. Regulators, gas meters, valves and mountings can
quickly become corroded. Combustion of biogas
containing H 2 S produces sulfur dioxide (SO 2 ). When
SO 2 combines with water vapor, it produces sulfuric acid
that corrodes the exhaust pipes of burners, gas lamps and
engines. The gaseous SO 2 also dissolves in engine oil
causing the oil to become acidic and lose its ability to
lubricate, damaging the engine and shortening time
between oil changes .SO 2 is considered more dangerous
than H 2 S because it is hazardous for health and
environment, as it produces smog and acid rain .
Requirements for H 2 S removal for biogas vary depending
on the biogas utilization technology. H 2 S levels below
1000 ppm are necessary for use in boilers to produce heat.
Levels less than 250 ppm are necessary to avoid excessive
corrosion and expensive deterioration of lubrication oil
.The H 2 S limit for electricity production by internal
combustion engines is 100 ppm. Compressed bio-
methane (CBM), equivalent to compressed natural gas
(CNG), for use as a vehicle fuel should have levels of
H 2 S below 16 ppm . If biogas is to be used as natural gas
and injected into the grid, the hydrogen sulfide levels
need to be less than 4 ppm .
b) Need of Removing CO 2 from Biogas:
Carbon dioxide is present in raw biogas with very high
concentration. This decreases energy content per unit mass
/volume and limits its use for low quality energy
applications. Presence of carbon dioxide in biogas is
undesirable to use it as a vehicular fuel because it lowers
the power output from the engine and occupies additional
space in gas storage cylinders. This may require frequent
refilling of fuel tank of vehicle. Presence of carbon
dioxide in biogas can cause problem of freezing at valves
and metering points. So removal of carbon dioxide from
biogas is essential to increase use of biogas for wider
range of applications.[4]
c) Need of Removing Moisture from Biogas:
Presence of moisture in biogas to be used as fuel may
corrode metallic parts of engine and fuel supply system.
Also this moisture may react with SO 2 .This reaction
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produces sulfuric acid that corrodes the exhaust pipes of
burners, gas lamps and engines.
4. BASIC OF TECHNIQUES USED FOR
REMOVAL OF IMPURITIES FROM
BIOGAS:
To upgrade biogas to bio CNG first of all sulfur must be
removed from biogas. It is to be carried out first because
most processes of CO 2 removal from biogas act
antagonistically towards hydrogen sulfide; the smaller
concentration of hydrogen sulfide, the better effects of
carbon dioxide removal from biogas.H 2 S removal can be
done in the same process line used for CO 2 , but it should
be done first.[5]
a) Removal Of H 2 s From Raw Biogas:
Removal of sulfur from biogas involves oxidizing
hydrogen sulfide with atmospheric oxygen. A small
amount of air (3-6% volume of produced biogas) can be
introduced directly into a bio-reactor filled with digested
matter. This can be done by pumps that supply suitable
amounts of air. Chemical reaction for this oxidation
process can be stated as shown below:
2H 2 S+ O 2  2S + 2 H 2 O.
Hydrogen sulfide can be removed using catalyst iron oxide
in the form of oxidized steel wool or chips of iron cut
from lathe operation of any workshop. When raw biogas
comes into contact with steel wool / chips, iron oxide gets
converted to elemental sulfur. The chemical equation for
this process is as shown below:
i) Fe 2 O 3 + 3H 2 S  Fe 2 S 3 + 3 H 2 O.
ii) 2Fe 2 S 3 + 3O 2  2Fe 2 O 3 + 6S.
In wet technique used for sulfur removal from biogas,
solution of NaOH can be used.
2 NaOH + H 2 S  NaHS + 2H 2 S.
Hydrogen sulfide reacts with sodium carbonate present in
solution, forming sodium hydrosulfide as described by
reaction:
H 2 S + Na 2 CO 3  NaHS + NaHCO 3 .
The hydrated iron oxide introduced in to solution reacts as
follows:
Fe 2 O 3 + 3NaHS+ 3NaHCO 3  Fe 2 S 3 + 3H 2 O +
3Na 2 CO 3 + 3 H 2 O.
b) Removal Of CO 2 From Raw Biogas:
ISSN 2348 – 7968
For this, solution of NaOH and water in 40: 60 ratios (by
weight) can be prepared in a container. When NaOH and
water are mixed together enormous amount of heat will be
generated due to exothermic reaction. When heat gets
disappeared, raw biogas may be allowed to pass through
the solution. This will reduce carbon dioxide present in
biogas.
2NaOH + CO 2  Na 2 CO 3 + H 2 O.
In alternate arrangement, solution of limestone and water
in 40: 60 ratios (by weight) can be prepared in a container.
When limestone and water are mixed together enormous
amount of heat will get generated due to exothermic
reaction. When heat gets disappeared, raw biogas can be
allowed to pass through the solution. This will reduce
carbon dioxide present in biogas.
Ca(OH) 2 + CO 2  CaCO 3 + H 2 O.
c) Removal Of Moisture From Raw Biogas:
To remove moisture from raw biogas, silica gel can be
used as it has very good moisture absorbing capacity. In
market silica gel is available as white silica gel and blue
silica gel. Blue silica gel is somewhat costlier compared to
white silica gel due to its better properties compared to
that of white silica gel. Silica gel will absorb moisture
from biogas. These silica gel crystals must be replaced
based on purity of biogas obtained in terms of moisture
content in it
5. PROPOSED LOW COST BIOGAS UP
GRADATION SYSTEM:
The experimental work is carried out at biogas research
centre of Gujarat Vidhyapeeth at Sadra having a biogas
plant of Dinbandhu Model of capacity 3 meter cube per
day .This plant is fed per day 60 kg cattle dung, 15 kg
kitchen waste and 75 kg water. Produced biogas can be
used as fuel for i) gas stove for heating ii) spark ignition
type dedicated biogas engine (Make: Siya Instruments )
run generator of capacity 500 kW iii) compression ignition
type dual fuel engine (Make : Field Marshal )run
generator of capacity 3kW. The centre also has air
compressor, pressure regulators, CNG cylinder, biogas
analyzer (Make: Siya Instruments) to measure methane
and carbon dioxide content in biogas
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ISSN 2348 – 7968
Ca(OH) 2 . Gas is allowed to bubble in that solution and
certain amount of CO 2 will get removed.

In forth chamber silica gel is kept. For this experiment,

blue silica gel was used. Biogas will enter from bottom and
will come out from top of the chamber. This will remove
moisture from biogas. Composition of biogas before
treatment and after scrubbing obtained by laboratory test
report is as summarized below:

Table 2: Composition of Raw Biogas and Scrubbed Biogas

Fig.1 Photograph of experimental setup for chemical
CONTENT RAW SCRUBBED-
scrubbing of biogas
BIOGAS BIOGAS
[USING NaOH
& Ca(OH) 2 ]
Methane % 61.22 94.69
Carbon Dioxide% 32.01 3.05
Hydrogen Sulfide, 986 87
ppm
Oxygen % 2.76 1.07
Moisture% 3.91 1.07
Fig.2 Schematic arrangement of experimental setup
chemical scrubbing of biogas
6. CONCLUSION:
As shown in above shown fig. 1 , four plastic bottles ( used
for storing Reverse Osmosis processed potable drinking Using above described system, carbon dioxide present in
water ) with necessary pipe fittings were used in this raw biogas can be reduced from 32.01 % upto 3.05 % and
experimental work. methane content present in raw biogas can be raised from
61.22 % to 94.69% . Also hydrogen sulfide and moisture
Raw biogas first enters from bottom of the first chamber content can be reduced. Natural gas has 75-98% methane.
containing iron feelings (chips available from lathe Purified biogas obtained is known as bio CNG as its
operations) and comes out from top. This will remove H 2 S composition is matching with that of CNG. Based on these
and somewhat moisture. following applications of purified biogas are possible:

In second chamber solution of NaOH with water is
prepared with concentration of 40 %, due to exothermic
reaction very high amount of heat is produced. That heat
will dissipate gradually. Now biogas enters from top of the
chamber containing solution of Sodium Hydroxide. Gas is
allowed to bubble in that solution and certain amount of
H 2 S and CO 2 will get removed.
In third chamber solution of Ca(OH) 2 with water is
prepared with concentration of 40 %. Due to exothermic
reaction very high amount of heat is produced. That heat
will dissipate gradually. Now biogas enters from top of the
chamber containing solution of Sodium Hydroxide,
Biogas after removing H 2 S can be used as fuel for
stationary internal combustion engine for better engine
performance compared to raw biogas.
After removing H 2 S, moisture and CO 2 from raw biogas ,
purified biogas can be used without compression,
1. For cooking purpose for improved heating
compared to raw biogas.
2. To run stationary internal combustion engine
used for irrigation for better engine performance
compared to raw biogas. For this purpose if
engine is to be run at distance from biogas plant,
biogas balloons can be used.

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www.ijiset.com
ISSN 2348 – 7968

After removing H 2 S, moisture and CO 2 from raw biogas ,

purified biogas can be compressed and bottled into
cylinders. Bottled purified biogas can be used as
replacement to,
1. Compressed natural gas used in automotive
engines
2. Liquefied petroleum gas which is for cooking
purpose.
3. Liquefied petroleum gas which is for gas cutting
/welding purpose.

The methane enrichment of biogas to biomethane quality

and its feeding into natural gas grid /compression in
cylinder is an effective way of integrating the biogas into
energy sector. Thus it can be successfully used as
substitute to natural gas and transportation fuel, combined
heat and power and electricity generation applications.

References:

1 V.K.Vijay , S.S.Kapdi: Biogas Purification and bottling into

CNG cylinders : Producing BioCNG from biomass for Rural
Automotive Applications ‘, The second joint international
conference on “ Sustainable Energy and Environment “
Bangkok , Thailand. (2006)
2 V.K.Vijay Studies on utilization of biogas for improved
performance of duel fuel engine. M E (Ag.) thesis.
CTAE Udaipur.(1989)
3 C. Offori-Boateng and E.M.Kwofe : Water scrubbing : A
better option for biogas purification for effective storage
.World Applied Science Journal 5(special issue for
environment ) : 122-125, 2009.
4 R.Chandra, V.K.Vijay and P.M.V. Subbarao : Vehicular
Quality Biomethane Production from Biogas by using an
automated water scrubbing system, International Scholarly
Research Network ISRN Renewable Energy Volume 2012,
Article ID 904167.
5 Jan Cebula : Biogas Purification by sorption techniques,
“Architecture, Civil Engineering , Environment , The
Silesian University of Technology no. 2/2009.

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